refusing. after rejectingtheobamaadministrationproposallastweek, houserepublicans offered an outline for $2.2 trillion in deficit reduction, mostly through spending cuts. and while president obama would not answer questions about the counterproposal -- >> no deal better than a bad deal, sir? >> reporter: -- a senior white house official assailed it as a step backward, saying if republicans do not agree to some higher rates for wealthier taxpayer, the nation will go over the cliff, and the american people will hold the republicans responsible. wall street remains optimistic a deal will be struck. so the lack of progress is not yet resulted in a market plunge. but some economists estimate that because of the uncertainty posed by the fiscal cliff, at least 200,000 fewer jobs have been created this year. the official deadline is december 31st at midnight when the ball drops in times square. the deadline is before that, a week from friday when the house of representatives is scheduled to go on vacation. in actuality there are fewer than 11 days before they need to work out a deal. jake ta